The day Shen Heng died suddenly in the kitchen, the fire had started inside the stove. She opened her eyes and found herself back at sixteen, with the fire in the stove still burning. This time, she doesn’t want to be anyone’s wife. She only wants to turn the kitchen into her own shop.
A rebirth story, not a System novel, with no golden finger apart from her memories. There is a male lead, and the romance develops slowly. The early story focuses on family life and business; later, there’s a touch of political intrigue.
Dynasty: The fictional Great Liang Dynasty, combining the bustling city life of the Song dynasty with the open-minded spirit of the Tang dynasty.
Social structure: Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, but merchants have higher status than they did in the Tang and Song dynasties. Women can own shops and take part in family business decisions.
Girls come of age at fifteen. At sixteen, their parents can arrange their betrothal. If they are still unmarried at eighteen, their clan will pressure them to wed.
Concubine-born daughters rank below legitimate daughters but above those born to mistresses. They can inherit a small dowry but not the family estate.
In ancient times, cooking was considered a lowly profession, but Linchuan Prefecture has Hundred Flavors Alley, a district where eateries from across the city congregate and where women can legally run businesses.
